Starter Get thinkingCentral issue Has God laid down

Starter: Get thinking…Central issue Has God laid down firm and unalterable rules or do human beings need to make their own moral decisions? Remind me about one mistake!!

Homework • Identify the different sacrificial aspects of the story of Mrs Bergmeier • Due:

• Mrs. Bergmeier was separated from her family at the Battle of the Bulge and imprisoned in the Ukraine. During those months she learned that her husband (also a Prisoner Of War) had been released from another camp and had located all the children in Berlin. There were two reasons why the Russians would release a prisoner: the need for extensive medical treatment or pregnancy. She persuaded a German guard to impregnate her and was returned to Germany as a liability. The family was re-knit and they all loved her and the child for it. • (From ‘Situation Ethics’, Fletcher) •

S. E. Summary so far… • As reaction against what Fletcher saw as a paternalistic and imposed morality of traditional Christianity, he developed Situation Ethics which… • Rejects Natural Law approach to ethics which formulates rules and then applies them to individual situations • He argued against the deductive method of ethics and suggested that individual situations were paramount • He believed that there should be a single moral principle – that you should do whatever is the most loving thing • Ethical rules were of secondary importance; they might guide a person, but should not dictate right from wrong

Moving forward… • So, ultimately, it was not the rules that counted but the principle of _ _ • Thus where _ _ demanded that a conventional moral should be broken… Finish the sentence!

Four presumptions (also known as four working principles) • Pragmatism • Relativism • Positivism • Personalism What do you think these words mean? How do they relate to Situation Ethics?

What is love? There a number of different Greek words for love, as the Greek language distinguishes how the word is used including eros, philia, and agape. What different types of love can you think of? .

Agape: Christian love • The verb appears in the New Testament describing, amongst other things, the relationship between Jesus and the beloved disciple. In biblical literature, its meaning and usage is illustrated by selfsacrificing, giving love to all--both friend and enemy. It is used in Matthew 22: 39, "Love your neighbour as yourself, " and in John 15: 12, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you, “ • Christians are not required to simply love others, but to do so to the extent that they sacrifice part of themselves in doing so

The 6 fundamental principles & Christian love First proposition Only the end justifies the means, nothing else Fifth proposition Love’s decisions are made situationally, not prescriptively Second Proposition Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed , nothing else Third proposition Love will the neighbour’s good, whether we like him or not Sixth proposition The ruling norm of Christian decision is love: nothing else Fourth proposition Only one thing is intrinsically good; namely love: nothing else at all

Pragmatism q A practical or success posture. The proposed course of action must work, and must work towards the end, which is love

Relativism • Situation ethics is relativistic: ‘the Situationist avoids words like ‘never’ and ‘perfect’ and ‘always’ and ‘complete’ as he avoids the plague, as he avoids ‘absolutely’ (Fletcher, 1963). • There are no fixed rules that must always be obeyed. • However, nor is it a free for all! • Fletcher maintains that all decisions must be relative to Christian love. • Situation ethics ‘relativizes the absolute, it does not absolutize the relative’ (Fletcher 1963).

Time has gone for today… • Write one thing you have learned today… • This could be a concept you are now familiar with. • Or, a new key term in your vocabulary. • A theory that you are more confident in understanding. • Developed an academic/exam skill. • If nothing, be honest. But say why you feel nothing.